Isplay user interface, and related systems, methods and devices

ABSTRACT

Embodiments described in this disclosure relate, generally, to a touch user interface (UI) that interacts with, and may be used to manipulate, a graphical user interface (GUI) of a display utility presented at a graphical overlay, and systems and methods for implementing the same. Some embodiments of the disclosure may be incorporated into display systems, including bezel-less display systems.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. § 119(e) of U.S.Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/625,629, filed Feb. 2, 2018,the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein in its entirety bythis reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

Embodiments of the present disclosure relate, generally, to userinterfaces, and in certain embodiments, to onscreen display utilityoverlays that incorporate user interfaces.

BACKGROUND

Conventional display systems (e.g., monitors, televisions, etc.) ofteninclude physical push buttons (typically a switch mechanism activated bypushing on it—e.g., to bias the switch—and a spring may return themechanism to an inactive position) for setting line input,brightness/contrast, video settings, audio settings, etc. A conventionaldisplay system may include push buttons on the side of display's bezel,such as push buttons 102 shown in FIG. 1A or on the top of the display'sbezel, such as push buttons 104 shown FIG. 1B. A user of a displaysystem may use the push buttons to interact with the display system'sutility application (also referred to herein as simply a “displayutility”). A display utility is typically a software or firmwareapplication that manages certain characteristics of a display system(e.g., signal input selection, display brightness, volume, resolution,etc.), typically by setting one or more values associated with suchcharacteristics. A user may interact with a utility application througha combination of the push buttons and a graphical user interface (GUI)presented at a display of a display system, such as the display utilityGUI shown in FIG. 2A.

Push buttons at the bezel put a lower limit on the bezel dimensions,that is, the buttons are the largest item on the bezel. Further, theswitches that comprise the buttons take up space within the bezel.Accordingly, the buttons on conventional displays constrain the abilityto manufacture thin displays.

Other disadvantages and deficiencies with display systems may exist. Theforegoing description is the state of the art as known to the inventorof this disclosure and is not, nor should it be construed to be,admitted prior art.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The purposes and advantages of the embodiments of the present disclosurewill be apparent to a person of ordinary skill in the art from thedetailed description in conjunction with the appended drawings asfollows:

FIGS. 1A and 1B show, respectively, push buttons on the side and top ofthe bezel of a conventional display system.

FIG. 2A shows a display utility graphical user interface (GUI) inaccordance with the state of the art.

FIG. 2B shows a functional block diagram of a display system inaccordance with the state of the art.

FIGS. 3A and 3B show a display system including a touch user interfaceand a GUI associated with a display utility, in accordance withembodiments of the disclosure.

FIG. 3C shows an example of a user interacting with a display system ofFIGS. 3A and 3B, in accordance with embodiments of the disclosure.

FIG. 4 shows a functional block diagram of a display system, inaccordance with embodiments of the disclosure.

FIG. 5 shows a functional block diagram of a utility touch GUI, inaccordance with embodiments of the disclosure.

FIG. 6A shows a flowchart for activating a utility GUI for presentationby a graphical overlay, in accordance with embodiments of thedisclosure.

FIG. 6B shows a flowchart of operations associated with presenting adisplay utility GUI at a graphical overlay, in accordance withembodiments of the disclosure.

FIG. 6C shows a flowchart of a process associated with displaying adisplay utility GUI by a graphical overlay, in accordance withembodiments of the disclosure.

FIG. 6D shows a flowchart of a process associated with processingmanipulation of a display utility GUI presented at a graphical overlay,in accordance with embodiments of the disclosure.

FIG. 6E shows a flowchart of a process associated with processingmanipulation of a display utility GUI presented at a graphical overlay,in accordance with embodiments of the disclosure.

FIG. 7A shows a flowchart of a process for using a display system, inaccordance with embodiments of the disclosure.

FIG. 7B shows a flowchart for controlling a display during use, inaccordance with embodiments of the disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following detailed description, reference is made to theaccompanying drawings, which form a part hereof, and in which are shown,by way of illustration, specific examples of embodiments in which thepresent disclosure may be practiced. These embodiments are described insufficient detail to enable a person of ordinary skill in the art topractice the present disclosure. However, other embodiments may beutilized, and structural, material, and process changes may be madewithout departing from the scope of the disclosure.

The illustrations presented herein are not meant to be actual views ofany particular method, system, device, or structure, but are merelyidealized representations that are employed to describe the embodimentsof the present disclosure. The drawings presented herein are notnecessarily drawn to scale. Similar structures or components in thevarious drawings may retain the same or similar numbering for theconvenience of the reader; however, the similarity in numbering does notmean that the structures or components are necessarily identical insize, composition, arrangement, configuration, or any other property.

Specific implementations shown and described are only examples andshould not be construed as the only way to implement the presentdisclosure unless specified otherwise herein. Elements, circuits, andfunctions may be shown in block diagram form to avoid obscuring thepresent disclosure in unnecessary detail. Conversely, specificimplementations shown and described are exemplary only and should not beconstrued as the only way to implement the present disclosure unlessspecified otherwise herein. Additionally, block definitions andpartitioning of logic between various blocks is exemplary of a specificimplementation. It will be readily apparent to a person of ordinaryskill in the art that the present disclosure may be practiced bynumerous other partitioning solutions. For the most part, detailsconcerning timing considerations and the like have been omitted wheresuch details are not necessary to obtain a complete understanding of thepresent disclosure and are within the abilities of a person of ordinaryskill in the relevant art.

Thus, examples provided in the present disclosure are intended to helpenable a person of ordinary skill in the art to practice the disclosureand the disclosed embodiments. The use of the terms “exemplary,” “byexample,” “for example,” and the like, means that the relateddescription is explanatory and non-limiting, and while the scope of thedisclosure is intended to encompass the examples of the presentdisclosure and their legal equivalents, the use of such terms is notintended to limit the scope of an embodiment or this disclosure to thespecified components, steps, features, functions, or the like.

A person of ordinary skill in the art would understand that informationand signals may be represented using any of a variety of differenttechnologies and techniques. For example, data, instructions, commands,information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips that may be referencedthroughout this description may be represented by voltages, currents,electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or particles, optical fields orparticles, or any combination thereof. Some drawings may illustratesignals as a single signal for clarity of presentation and description.It will be understood by a person of ordinary skill in the art that thesignal may represent a bus of signals, wherein the bus may have avariety of bit widths and the present disclosure may be implemented onany number of data signals including a single data signal.

The various illustrative logical blocks, modules, and circuits describedin connection with the embodiments disclosed herein may be implementedor performed with a general purpose processor, a special purposeprocessor, a Digital Signal Processor (DSP), an Application SpecificIntegrated Circuit (ASIC), a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) orother programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic,discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed toperform the functions described herein.

A general-purpose processor (may also be referred to herein as a hostprocessor or simply a host) may be a microprocessor, but in thealternative, the processor may be any conventional processor,controller, microcontroller, or state machine. A processor may also beimplemented as a combination of computing devices, such as a combinationof a DSP and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, one ormore microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other suchconfiguration. A general-purpose computer including a processor isconsidered a special-purpose computer while the general-purpose computeris configured to execute computing instructions (e.g., software code)related to embodiments of the present disclosure.

Embodiments of the disclosure may be described in terms of a processthat is depicted as a flowchart, a flow diagram, a structure diagram, ora block diagram. Although a flowchart may describe operational acts as asequential process, many of these acts can be performed in anothersequence, in parallel, or substantially concurrently. In addition, theorder of the acts may be re-arranged. A process may correspond to amethod, a thread, a function, a procedure, a subroutine, a subprogram,etc. Furthermore, the methods disclosed herein may be implemented inhardware, software, or both. If implemented in software, the functionsmay be stored or transmitted as one or more instructions or code oncomputer-readable media. Computer-readable media includes both computerstorage media and communication media including any medium thatfacilitates transfer of a computer program from one place to another.

Any reference to an element herein using a designation such as “first,”“second,” and so forth does not limit the quantity or order of thoseelements, unless such limitation is explicitly stated. Rather, thesedesignations may be used herein as a convenient method of distinguishingbetween two or more elements or instances of an element. Thus, areference to first and second elements does not mean that only twoelements may be employed there or that the first element must precedethe second element in some manner. In addition, unless stated otherwise,a set of elements may comprise one or more elements.

As used herein, the term “substantially” in reference to a givenparameter, property, or condition means and includes to a degree that aperson of ordinary skill in the art would understand that the givenparameter, property, or condition is met with a small degree ofvariance, such as, for example, within acceptable manufacturingtolerances. By way of example, depending on the particular parameter,property, or condition that is substantially met, the parameter,property, or condition may be at least 90% met, at least 95% met, oreven at least 99% met.

The various embodiments described in this disclosure relate, generally,to a touch user interface (UI) that interacts with, and may be used tomanipulate, a graphical user interface (GUI) of a display utilitypresented at a graphical overlay (also referred to as a “graphical videooverlay” if primarily presented over a video input). Embodiments of thedisclosure may be incorporated into display systems, includingbezel-less display systems. Some embodiments of bezel-less displaysystems may be characterized by dimensions that are limited only by thedimensions of a display, display electronics, touch interfaceelectronics, and a thickness of housing walls.

As used herein, “display system” means an output device that providesinformation in visual form and/or audio form, and includes, by way ofexample, monitors and televisions. A display system may include adisplay, circuitry/electronics, power supply, and a housing. Examples ofdisplays include, a liquid crystal display (LCD), thin-film-transistorLCDs (TFT-LCDs), light emitting diode (LED) displays, organic LEDdisplays, plasma displays, and cathode-ray-tube (CRT) displays. Adisplay system may also include interfaces to receive one or more ofvideo and audio signals, for example, coaxial cable, video graphicsarray, digital visual interface (DVI), high-definition multimediainterface (HDMI), DisplayPort, Thunderbolt, low-voltage differentialsignaling (LVDS), and other formats and signals. The electronics mayprocess or transform the various video and audio signals into otherformats to facilitate display of visual information.

Unless otherwise stated, the use herein of “front,” “in-front,” “back”or “behind” in relation to a display system, “front” means the displayside of the display system and “back” means the side of the displaysystem opposing the display (typically defined by a wall of a housing),and “in-front” means the direction from the back surface to the display,and “behind” means the direction from the display to the back surface.

Various embodiments of the display systems described herein may includeone or more contact interfaces, including touch user interfaces. Asunderstood for purposes of the embodiments described herein, a contactsensor may respond to an object's (such as a finger or a stylus) contactwith, or the object's proximity to, a contact-sensitive area of acontact interface. In this disclosure “contact” and “touch” generallyrefer to an object's physical contact with a contact-sensitive area, butit may also encompass the close proximity of an object that produces adetectable response by a contact sensor. Further, a reference to an areaor element as “contact-sensitive”or (e.g., a “contact sensitive area” or“contact sensitive button”) refers to a physical area or element of atouch interface where a contact sensor may respond to an object'scontact. In the case of a contact-sensitive area that is a surface, thecontact-sensitive area may be referred to herein as a “contact-sensitivesurface.” Contact sensors may use various techniques to sense contact,including projective sensing techniques (e.g., self-capacitance, mutualcapacitance, and combinations thereof), resistive sensing, infraredsensing, optical sensing, and combinations thereof. If a contactsensitive area, contact sensor, or controller is, or is anticipated tobe, incorporated into a touch interface, then it may also becharacterized as a touch sensitive area, touch sensor, or touchcontroller, as the case may be.

A contact-sensitive UI may be used (e.g., by a user) to manipulate aGUI. For example, a GUI typically includes one or more display regionsand active/activatable regions. As used in this disclosure, a displayregion is a region of a GUI which displays information to a user. Anactivatable region is a region of a GUI, such as a button, slider, or amenu, which allows the user to take some action with respect to the GUI(e.g., if manipulated). Some display regions are also activatableregions in that they display information and enable some action that maybe taken by a user. In a contact-sensitive GUI, contacting acontact-sensitive area associated with an activatable region mayactivate that region (e.g., selecting a GUI button). Activatable regionsmay be displayed as GUI elements/objects, for example, buttons, sliders,selectable panes, menus, etc., all of various shapes and sizes.

Generally, if contact is sensed at a contact-sensitive area, a processis used to determine the activatable regions of the GUI to which thecontact corresponds, if any. For example, if an “ENTER” button istouched by a finger, the contact is detected and responsive to thedetected contact a process determines that the contact was at the ENTERbutton. The ENTER button is an activatable region, so events are createdin the touch sensitive GUI and/or the underlying application thatinvoked the GUI.

FIG. 2B shows a functional block diagram of a display system 200 thatincorporates a display utility GUI, such as the display utility GUI 230(see FIG. 2A), in accordance with the state of the art as understood bythe inventors. The audio/video (A/V) input 202 provides a video signalto a video signal processor 206 that performs pixel mapping and videoscaling on the video signal, and generate a bitmap. The display utility214 may provide information about a display utility GUI 230 to the videosignal processor 206, for presentation at the display output 222. Adisplay controller 216 may control the display output 222 according tothe output of the video signal processor 206, for example, a bitmap. Auser may interact with the display utility GUI 230 by using push buttons232 (see FIG. 2A) coupled to the utility input(s) 218.

As noted, above, requiring the use of push buttons 232 constrains theability of display system manufacturers to eliminate a bezel or evenreduce the dimensions of a bezel, and therefore constrains their abilityto reduce the dimensions, in terms of depth or thickness, of a displaysystem. Stated another way, push buttons 232 put a limit on thedimensions of a bezel on devices such as televisions and monitors, anddevices that incorporate display system such as tablet computers, mobilephones, and desktop computers.

FIGS. 3A and 3B show a display system 300, in accordance withembodiments of the disclosure. While the display system 300 shown inFIG. 3A is a bezel-less LCD monitor, other display types and profilesare specifically contemplated. The display 302 of the display system 300may present a graphical video overlay comprising visual buttons 304,which may also be characterized as “virtual” buttons, for monitorsettings. The visual buttons 304 may be associated with a displayutility that controls one or more characteristics of the display system300. In one embodiment, the visual buttons may include “menu,”“brightness,” “contrast,” and “exit.” Other activatable GUI elements maybe included, in addition to or alternatively to, the visual buttons 304.Further, other GUI elements associated with other display systemsettings may be presented by the display utility GUI. Finally, layoutsother than a vertical list may be used, for example, a horizontal list,a dial or rotary arrangement, or combinations thereof. Such layouts mayincorporate tree-structures. In various embodiments, the type, form, andnumber of GUI elements may be defined in a GUI application executing inthe display system 300.

FIG. 3B shows a cut-out view of the display system 300, with a front ofthe monitor view (including the display 302) on the right, and aback-of-the-monitor view on the left. FIG. 3B shows a relationshipbetween contact sensitive buttons 306 (e.g., capacitive touch(“cap-touch”) buttons) and visual buttons 304 (see FIG. 3A). Shown onthe back of monitor view are four contact sensitive buttons 306 that maybe contact-sensitive surfaces located on the back surface 308 of thedisplay system 300. Also shown is a finger (or hand) proximity sensor310 that may be a contact-sensitive surface located on the back surface308 of the display system 300. Shown on the front of the monitor view isa graphical overlay including the visual buttons 304 for monitorsettings. The contact sensitive buttons 306 and visual buttons 304 arelocated in substantially mirroring locations on back surface 308 anddisplay 302, respectively. In other words, the location of the contactsensitive buttons 306 relative to the top left corner 314 issubstantially the location of the visual buttons 304 relative to the topright corner 312. In one embodiment, an ergonomic offset in therespective relative positions may exist to allow for a comfortable handplacement and finger placement relative to the cap-touch buttons 306.

In some embodiments, one or more of the number, dimensions and shape ofthe contact sensitive buttons 306 and visual buttons 304 are notsubstantially congruent. For example, there may be more or fewer contactsensitive buttons 306 than visual buttons 304; and the shape anddimensions of one or more visual buttons 304 may be different than theshape and dimensions of one or more of the contact sensitive buttons306.

FIG. 3C shows a display system 300 in use: a user's fingers and handreach around the right side of the display system 300 so that thefingers are able to manipulate one or more of the contact sensitivebuttons 306 that are associated with the visual buttons 304.

Turning back to FIG. 3B, also shown is an embodiment of a fingerproximity sensor 310. The finger proximity sensor 310 may be acontact-sensitive surface that extends the vertical length of a regionhaving the cap-touch buttons 306. A hand or other object that contactsthe finger proximity sensor 310 (for example, as a user reaches towardthe cap-touch buttons 306) may activate a display utility GUI includingthe visual buttons 304, which may be presented at a graphical overlay.

Although the contact sensitive buttons 306 are shown in FIGS. 3A and 3Bas separate contact-sensitive surfaces at specific locations on the backsurface 308, the disclosure is not so limited. For example, in oneembodiment, there may be a single touch sensitive surface, andresponsive to detecting finger, a hand and/or an initial touch on thesingle touch sensitive surface the utility touch GUI 348 (see FIG. 4)may be configured to associate various locations on the single touchsensitive surface with visual buttons 304. In one embodiment, theutility touch GUI 348 may associate various locations on the singletouch sensitive surface responsive to reported position information,e.g., from a touch sensing sub-system. Embodiments of a single touchsensitive surface may be configured so that a user may manipulate a GUIwith their finger by tapping, sliding, rotating, and combinationsthereof.

In one embodiment, the back surface 308 may include physicaltopographical features, for example, grooves, texturing, ridges, orcombinations thereof. In one embodiment, the physical features may beassociated with a touch sensitive region having cap-touch buttons,generally, and in another embodiment the physical features may defineindividual cap-touch buttons. In such embodiments, the physical featuresmay provide tactile feedback to a user of a display system 300.

FIG. 4 shows a functional block diagram of a display system 300, inaccordance with embodiments of the disclosure. A display system 300 mayreceive a media signal comprising media information at an audio-visual(A/V) input 322. A media signal may include, but is not limited to,audio information and/or video information. The A/V input 322 mayinclude any interface known to a person of ordinary skill in the art forreceiving media information, including analog interfaces, digitalinterfaces, and combinations thereof, including without limitationcoaxial cable, video graphics array (VGA and SVGA), digital visualinterface (DVI), high-definition multimedia interface (HDMI),DisplayPort, Thunderbolt, low-voltage differential signaling (LVDS), andother formats and signals

In one embodiment, the display system 300 includes both display output344 and audio output 342, and video information is received at a videoprocessor 326, and the audio information is received an audio processor324. The audio processor 324 may be operatively coupled to audiodigital-to-analog converter (DAC) 332, which is configured to convertprocessed analog audio signals to digital signals that can be output byaudio output 342 (e.g., a speaker). In other embodiments there may notbe an audio output or audio DAC 332, and the media information may notinclude audio information. Alternatively, if audio information isincluded, it may not be processed (e.g., ignored).

The video processor 326 may be configured to process the videoinformation and generate video information in a format usable by thedisplay controller 338 to control the display output 344. The videoprocessor 326 may include a pixel mapper 330 and a video scaler 328. Thepixel mapper 330 may be configured to map video information to specificdisplay pixels using techniques known to persons of ordinary skill inthe art. In one embodiment pixel mapping may be 1:1 pixel mapping,however, the disclosure is not limited to 1:1 pixel mapping. The videoscaler 328 may be configured to scale the pixel mapped video informationto a set resolution. In one embodiment, the resolution may be a nativeresolution of the display output 344. The video processor 326 mayprovide the processed information as a bitmap (or a pixmap, or fileformat that incorporates bitmaps, for example, device independentbitmap, interleaved bitmap, portable bitmap, and compressed formsthereof) to an on-screen display processor 336.

In some embodiments, the video information may comprise a default image(e.g., a blue screen), and that default image may indicate that no videosignal has been provided or is being processed. The default image may bepresented responsive to a “no-input signal” that is stored at thedisplay system 300.

The on-screen display processor 336 may be configured to process thebitmap with visual information associated with a graphical overlay. Inone embodiment, the on-screen display processor 336 may read a bitmapfrom a frame buffer (not shown). In another embodiment, the on-screendisplay processor 336 may receive a bitmap before providing it to aframe buffer. In yet another embodiment, the on-screen display processor336 may be incorporated with the video processor 326.

The on-screen display processor 336 may be configured to process abitmap to include visual information for display of a graphical overlay,for example, a display utility overlay shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B.Processing the bitmap may include overwriting information on the bitmapwith visual information related to an overlay. The overwritteninformation may be associated with pixels corresponding to one or morelocations on the display output 344 at which a graphic video overlay,including a utility GUI, may be displayed. In cases where there is novisual information for display at a graphical video overlay, theon-screen display processor 336 may pass through a bitmap withoutprocessing it. The on-screen display processor 336 may be configured toprovide an overlaid-bitmap. The display controller 338 may be configuredto control the display output 344 responsive to the overlaid bitmap(s).

The on-screen display processor 336 may be configured to receive overlayvisual information from a display utility 334. The display utility 334may be configured to provide overlay visual to the on-screen displayprocessor 336, as well as operably control display characteristics ofthe display system 300 responsive to one or more events received from autility touch GUI 348. Providing overlay visual information for anon-screen display utility to the on-screen display processor 336 mayinclude, for example, providing visual information associated withdisplay of a display utility GUI. The visual information may include theelements of a GUI associated with the on-screen display utility, visualindicators indicative of manipulation (e.g., by a user) of a GUI, andvisual indicators of settings associated with characteristics of thedisplay system 300.

The display utility 334 may be configured to receive information aboutuser manipulation of elements of a display utility GUI from a utilitytouch GUI 348. The utility touch GUI 348 may be configured to generateevents responsive to position information associated with contact sensedby a touch sensing sub-system 346. In one embodiment, the utility touchGUI 348 may resolve position information to GUI elements and activateone or more GUI elements responsive to the resolved positioninformation. An event-driven GUI associated with an on-screen displayutility overlay may operate, generally, as would be understood by aperson of ordinary skill in the art.

The touch sensing sub-system 346 may be configured to detect, anddetermine position information associated with contact at a touchsensitive input 340. In various embodiments, the touch sensitive input340 may include contact-sensitive surfaces such as the contact sensitivebuttons 306 (see e.g., FIG. 3B). By way of example, the touch sensingsub-system 346 may use a form of projected capacitance sensing thatincludes sensing by self-capacitance, mutual capacitance, orcombinations thereof.

In one embodiment, one or more of the touch sensing sub-system 346,utility touch GUI 348, and display utility 334, may be implemented on amicrocontroller. The microcontroller may have sufficient processingcores and memory to execute one or more of the functions of the touchsensing sub-system 346, utility touch GUI 348, and display utility 334.In one embodiment, the microcontroller is a display controller having amemory and a microprocessor, and configured to control a display. Insuch an embodiment one or more of the utility touch GUI 348 and displayutility 334 may be installed at a program store of the displaycontroller.

In some embodiments, one or more of sub-system 346, utility touch GUI348, and display utility 334 may implemented as an embedded unit, suchas a peripheral, on the microcontroller. In one embodiment, an embeddedunit may be configured to perform one or more core operations withoutinterrupting a microprocessor of the microcontroller. In one embodiment,an embedded unit may include a digital logic circuit or a configurablestate-machine that is configured to control at least some of theoperations of the embedded unit. A person of ordinary skill in the artwill understand many advantages to such an architecture, examplesinclude economies of space within a display system having fewerelectronic components, fewer interconnects, and highly integratedcontact sensing and GUI functions for improved interoperability.

FIG. 5 shows an embodiment of a utility touch GUI 348 that includes autility GUI element manager 350, utility GUI event listeners 352, and adisplay utility interface 354. The utility GUI element manager 350 maybe configured to determine specific elements of a utility GUI based onposition information and a GUI definition 356. Based on the determinedelements of the GUI, the utility GUI element manager 350 may generateand provide (e.g., publish) one or more events associated with thedetermined elements. The utility GUI event listeners 352 a-352 e(collectively referred as event listeners 352) may be configured toexecute responsive to the received events. The utility GUI eventlisteners 352 may be attached to one or more GUI elements usingtechniques known to a person having ordinary skill in the art.

FIG. 5 shows an embodiment of utility GUI event listeners 352, includinglisteners for activation/deactivation 352 a, hand position change 352 b,menu change 352 c, button select 352 d, and slider select 352 e. Aperson of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that additions andsubtractions to the event listeners 352 shown in FIG. 5 may be made, andare specifically contemplated by this disclosure.

FIG. 6A shows a flowchart for activating a display utility GUI forpresentation at a graphical overlay, in accordance with embodiments ofthe disclosure. At operation 602, position information may be receivedassociated with a contact event at a contact-sensitive surface. Atoperation 604, an activation event may be generated responsive to astate of a display utility GUI and the position information. In oneembodiment, the state of the display utility GUI may be “not displayed”or “inactive.” In one embodiment, the position information may beassociated with one or more contact sensitive surfaces associated withproximity detection, for example, the finger proximity sensor 310. Atoperation 606, visual information associated with the display utilityGUI may be provided responsive to the activation event. In oneembodiment, the visual information may be generated and/or provided byan activation/deactivation event listener 352 a. The visual informationmay define elements and a layout of the display utility GUI. Further,state information for the display utility GUI may be changed to reflectthat the GUI is “displayed” or “active,” and an “active” mode may beenabled. At operation 608, the visual information may be overlaid ontovideo information. The video information with the visual informationoverlaid onto it may be presented at a display.

In some embodiments, the visual information is overlaid onto the videoinformation according to predefined display location information. Inother words, the display utility GUI is always displayed substantiallyat the same predefined location and so the process for overlaying thevisual information onto the video information may include the predefineddisplay location. In other embodiments, the display utility GUI may bedisplayed at different locations. For example, in one embodiment, thedisplay location information may be determined and/or adjusted to alignthe display of the display utility GUI with contact events that areassociated with a position of a user's hand/fingers.

FIG. 6B shows a flowchart of operations associated with presenting adisplay utility GUI at a graphical overlay, in accordance withembodiments of the disclosure. At operation 612, position informationmay be received that is associated with a “contact” event at acontact-sensitive surface (or “hover” event because, as described inthis disclosure, contact includes both physical contact with, andproximity to, a contact sensitive area). At operation 614, a handposition change event may be generated responsive to a state of adisplay utility GUI and the position information. In one embodiment, thestate of the display utility GUI may be “displayed” or “active.” Atoperation 616, display position information and visual informationassociated with the display utility GUI may be provided responsive tothe hand position change event. In one embodiment, the display positioninformation and visual information may be generated and/or provided by ahand position change 352 b event listener. The display positioninformation may include information for the location of the displayutility GUI elements such that, while displayed, the display utility GUIelements are aligned with one or more contact sensitive surfaces.

In one embodiment, a hover event may be generated responsive to adetected presence of a hand or fingers. The utility GUI may be presentedat the display responsive to the hover event. In one embodiment, animage representative of a user's fingers may be presented at the displayresponsive to the fingers and/or hand hovering over a contact sensitivearea. The image may show the user's fingers and/or hand relative to autility GUI including visual buttons. In one embodiment, the user'sfingers may be presented at a graphical overlay, for example, the samegraphical overlay that presents the utility GUI or another graphicaloverlay. In one embodiment, visual information representative of auser's hand may be encoded in the video information and presented at thedisplay output. As a user's fingers and/or hands move the overlaid imageof the hand and/or finger may change. Further, as the hand and/orfingers move parallel to the display, the image may show a hand and/orfingers closer to, or farther away from, the elements of the utilityGUI, including visual buttons.

FIG. 6C shows a flowchart of a process 620 associated with displaying adisplay utility GUI by a graphical overlay, in accordance withembodiments of the disclosure. At operation 622, position informationassociated with a contact event at a contact-sensitive surface may bereceived. At operation 624, a menu change event may be generatedresponsive to a state of a display utility GUI and the positioninformation. In one embodiment, the menu change event may be generatedresponsive to a determined manipulation of a GUI element associated withchanging the layout and/or composition of a displayed GUI menu. Atoperation 626, visual information associated with the display utilityGUI may be provided responsive to the menu change event. The visualinformation may include information about GUI elements and layout,including GUI elements and layout different than currently presented ata display. In one embodiment, the visual information may be generatedand provided by a menu change 352 c event listener. At operation 628,the visual information may be overlaid onto video information.

FIG. 6D shows a flowchart of a process 630 associated with processingmanipulation of a display utility GUI presented at a graphical overlay,in accordance with embodiments of the disclosure. At operation 632,position information associated with a contact event at acontact-sensitive surface is received. At operation 634, a button selectevent is generated responsive to the position information. At operation636, input parameters may be provided responsive to the button selectevent. In one embodiment, the input parameters may be generated andprovided by a button select 352 d event listener. Input parameters maybe associated with characteristics of a display system (e.g., volume,resolution, brightness, tint, color, language selection, video modes,screen adjustment, input selection, etc.). The input parameters may beprovided to a display utility, which may control (e.g., change a controlvariable) one or more settings associated with characteristics of adisplay system responsive to the input parameters. Controlling suchsettings may result in visual and/or audio changes to a display of thedisplay system. In one embodiment, the input parameters may be providedto a display utility by way of a display utility interface.

In some embodiments, visual indicators may be provided responsive to abutton-select event prior to input parameters. FIG. 6E shows a flowchartof a process 640 associated with processing manipulation of a displayutility GUI presented at a graphical overlay, in accordance withembodiments of the disclosure. At operation 642, position informationassociated with a contact event at a contact-sensitive surface isreceived. At operation 644, a button select event is generatedresponsive to the position information. At operation 646, visualinformation comprising visual indicators (e.g., fade-in, highlight,outline solid, etc.) may be provided responsive to the positioninformation and a state of the GUI element associated with the buttonselect. The state of the GUI element may be a “finger hover” that isindicative of a finger over a cap-touch button or having tapped thecap-touch button once. At operation 648, the visual informationcomprising the visual indicators may be overlaid onto video information.While the visual information comprising the visual indicators arepresented at a display, one or more elements of the display utility GUImay be displayed with the visual indicators.

FIG. 7A shows a flowchart of a process 700 associated with using adisplay system 300, in accordance with embodiments of the disclosure. Atstep 702, a user may reach to a back surface of a display system. Invarious embodiments, a user may reach around the side or over the top ofthe display system to the back surface. At step 704, the user maycontact a hand proximity sensor located at the back surface of displaysystem. The hand proximity sensor may be located near the edge of thedisplay and use capacitive touch sensors. Capacitive touch buttons maybe located such that a user reaching around the side or over the top ofthe display system reaches over or past the hand proximity sensor. Atstep 706, while a graphical user interface for a display utility ispresented at a display, manipulating one or more visual buttons of thegraphical user interface by manipulating one or more capacitive touchbuttons located behind the graphical user interface. Visual indicatorsmay be presented at the display that are indicative of the user'smanipulation of the visual buttons and aid a user to see what they aremanipulating without seeing their fingers.

FIG. 7B shows a flowchart of a process 710 associated with using adisplay system 300, in accordance with embodiments of the disclosure.The process 710 may be performed while manipulating one or more visualbuttons of a graphical user interface by manipulating one or morecapacitive touch buttons located on a non-displaying surface of adisplay system presenting the graphical user interface. At operation712, one or more visual buttons may be presented at a display. Atoperation 714, selection of one or more visual buttons may be visuallyindicated by a visual indicator presented at the display. At operation716, an indication of changes to one or more settings of a displaysystem may be presented at the display. The change to the one or moresettings may be near in time to a change in a display characteristics,for example, brightness, resolution, tint, color, volume (if there is anaudio output), etc.

As already noted, embodiments of the disclosure eliminate constraints onmanufacturers' ability to reduce the width or depth profile of a displaysystem. Embodiments of the disclosure have many other advantages thatwill be apparent to a person having ordinary skill in the art. Forexample, separating the contact sensitive surface and the displayreduces the noise that may otherwise be induced by the display (e.g., bythe display data lines) at the contact sensor, which sometimes causes“false touches” at touch displays.

While certain embodiments have been described with reference to displaysettings, it is also specifically contemplated that the user interfacedescribed herein may be used to select and launch native applications ona display system. The menu to select and launch such nativeapplications, as well as the graphical interface for the nativeapplications, may be presented at a display by a graphical overlay.

In one embodiment, an appliance, such as a refrigerator, oven,microwave, washing machine, or dryer may have capacitive buttons and thecapacitive buttons may be operatively coupled to a display systemconfigured to display parameters related to the operation of theappliance (e.g., a cook or wash time, etc.) and display a utility GUIoverlay for a utility application. By manipulating the capacitivebuttons, a user may be able to manipulate settings related to theoperation of the appliance.

Many of the functional units described in this specification may beillustrated, described or labeled as modules, threads, or othersegregations of programming code, in order to more particularlyemphasize their implementation independence. Modules may be at leastpartially implemented in hardware, in one form or another. For example,a module may be implemented as a hardware circuit comprising custom VLSIcircuits or gate arrays, off-the-shelf semiconductors such as logicchips, transistors, or other discrete components. A module may also beimplemented in programmable hardware devices such as field programmablegate arrays, programmable array logic, programmable logic devices, orthe like.

Modules may also be implemented using software or firmware, stored on aphysical storage device (e.g., a computer readable storage medium), inmemory, or a combination thereof for execution by various types ofprocessors.

An identified module of executable code may, for instance, comprise oneor more physical or logical blocks of computer instructions, which may,for instance, be organized as a thread, object, procedure, or function.Nevertheless, the executable of an identified module need not bephysically located together, but may comprise disparate instructionsstored in different locations which, when joined logically together,comprise the module and achieve the stated purpose for the module.

Indeed, a module of executable code may be a single instruction, or manyinstructions, and may even be distributed over several different codesegments, among different programs, and across several storage or memorydevices. Similarly, operational data may be identified and illustratedherein within modules, and may be embodied in any suitable form andorganized within any suitable type of data structure. The operationaldata may be collected as a single data set, or may be distributed overdifferent locations including over different storage devices, and mayexist, at least partially, merely as electronic signals on a system ornetwork. Where a module or portions of a module are implemented insoftware, the software portions are stored on one or more physicaldevices, which are referred to herein as computer readable media.

In some embodiments, the software portions are stored in anon-transitory state such that the software portions, or representationsthereof, persist in the same physical location for a period of time.Additionally, in some embodiments, the software portions are stored onone or more non-transitory storage devices, which include hardwareelements capable of storing non-transitory states and/or signalsrepresentative of the software portions, even though other portions ofthe non-transitory storage devices may be capable of altering and/ortransmitting the signals. Examples of non-transitory storage devices areFlash memory and random-access-memory (RAM). Another example of anon-transitory storage device includes a read-only memory (ROM) whichcan store signals and/or states representative of the software portionsfor a period of time. However, the ability to store the signals and/orstates is not diminished by further functionality of transmittingsignals that are the same as or representative of the stored signalsand/or states. For example, a processor may access the ROM to obtainsignals that are representative of the stored signals and/or states inorder to execute the corresponding software instructions.

While the present disclosure has been described herein with respect tocertain illustrated embodiments, those of ordinary skill in the art willrecognize and appreciate that the present invention is not so limited.Rather, many additions, deletions, and modifications to the illustratedand described embodiments may be made without departing from the scopeof the invention as hereinafter claimed along with legal equivalentsthereof. In addition, features from one embodiment may be combined withfeatures of another embodiment while still being encompassed within thescope of the invention.

Additional non-limiting embodiments of the disclosure include:

Embodiment 1: a display system, comprising: a contact-sensitive userinterface located on a back surface of the display system; a displayconfigured to present a graphical user interface (GUI), the GUIcomprising activatable regions configured to be interacted with by thecontact-sensitive user interface; and a display system controllerconfigured to change settings associated with characteristics of thedisplay system responsive to activated regions of the GUI.

Embodiment 2: the display system of Embodiment 1, wherein thecontact-sensitive user interface comprises a contact-sensitive surface.

Embodiment 3: the display system of any of Embodiments 1 and 2, whereinthe contact-sensitive surface is adapted to respond to at least one ofphysical contact of objects and proximity of objects.

Embodiment 4: the display system of any of Embodiments 1 to 3, whereinthe display is configured to present one or more activatable regions atone or more first locations on the display substantially in front of oneor more second locations on the contact-sensitive user interface.

Embodiment 5: the display system of any of Embodiments 1 to 4, whereinthe one or more first locations and one or more second locations aresubstantially opposing each other.

Embodiment 6: the display system of any of Embodiments 1 to 5, whereinthe back surface comprises physical topographical features substantiallyat the one or more second locations.

Embodiment 7: the display system of any of Embodiments 1 to 6, whereinthe physical topographical features comprise ridging, texture, etching,depressed portions, raised portions, and combinations thereof.

Embodiment 8: the display system of any of Embodiments 1 to 7, whereinthe display is configured to present the GUI overlaid onto a videoreceived at a video input of the display system.

Embodiment 9: the display system of any of Embodiments 1 to 8, whereinthe display is configured to present the GUI overlaid onto a defaultimage indicative of no video received at a video input of the displaysystem.

Embodiment 10: the display system of any of Embodiments 1 to 9, whereinthe characteristics of the display system comprise one or more ofbrightness, tint, resolution, color, video mode, language, screenadjustment, and input selection.

Embodiment 11: the display system of any of Embodiments 1 to 10, furthercomprising an audio output, wherein at least one of the characteristicsof the display system is a volume associated with the audio output.

Embodiment 12: the display system of any of Embodiments 1 to 11, furthercomprising: a video input configured to receive video information; and avideo processor, wherein the video processor is configured to overlayvisual information associated with the graphical user interface ontovideo information received at the video input.

Embodiment 13: the display system of any of Embodiments 1 to 12, furthercomprising GUI application instructions stored on a memory that, whileexecuted by a processor, are adapted to enable the processor to generateand/or handle one or more events associated with the GUI.

Embodiment 14: the display system of any of Embodiments 1 to 13, whereinthe one or more events are associated with the activatable regions.

Embodiment 15: the display system of any of Embodiments 1 to 14, whereinthe one or more events comprise an activation event, a deactivationevent, a hand position change event, a hover event, a menu change event,a button select event, a slider select event.

Embodiment 16: the display system of any of Embodiments 1 to 15, furthercomprising: a touch sensor; and a touch controller configured to detectsensed touch signals received from the touch sensor and provide positioninformation to a GUI application responsive to the detected sensed touchsignals.

Embodiment 17: the display system of any of Embodiments 1 to 16, whereinthe touch controller comprises a processor and a memory having one ormore instructions stored thereon that, when executed by the processor,are adapted to enable the processor to perform functions, tasks, oractivities associated with the GUI application.

Embodiment 18: the display system of any of Embodiments 1 to 17, whereinthe touch controller further comprises one or more embedded unitsconfigured to perform touch detection and touch processing responsive tothe sensed touch signals.

Embodiment 19: the display system of any of Embodiments 1 to 18, whereinthe touch controller comprises a microprocessor, and at least one of theone or more embedded units is configured to perform core operationswithout interrupting the microprocessor.

Embodiment 20: the display system of any of Embodiments 1 to 19, whereinthe display is configured to present the graphical user interfaceresponsive to an activation event.

Embodiment 21: the display system of any of Embodiments 1 to 20, whereinthe activation event is a hand proximity event.

Embodiment 22: a system, comprising: a touch sensing sub-systemconfigured to detect sensed touch signals received from one or moretouch sensors and determine touch information responsive to the detectedsensed touch signals; and a memory and a processor, the memory havingone or more executable instructions stored thereon that, while executedby the processor, are adapted to enable the processor to: identify oneor more GUI elements responsive to the touch information; and generateone or more events responsive to the identified one or more GUIelements.

Embodiment 23: the system of Embodiment 22, wherein the touchinformation is position information, and further wherein the one or moreexecutable instructions are adapted to enable the processor to: comparethe position information to stored position information that correspondsto one or more contact sensitive buttons; and identify a contactedcontact-sensitive button responsive to the comparison.

Embodiment 24: the system of Embodiments 22 and 23, wherein the positioninformation is indicative of a first location on a contact sensitivesurface associated with one contact sensor of the one or more contactsensors, and the contacted contact-sensitive button is associated withthe first location.

Embodiment 25: the system of any of Embodiments 22 to 24, wherein theone or more executable instructions are adapted to enable the processorto: compare a second position information to the stored positioninformation that corresponds to the one or more contact sensitivebuttons; and identify a second contacted contact-sensitive buttonresponsive to the comparison.

Embodiment 26: the system of any of Embodiments 22 to 26, wherein thesecond position information is indicative of a second location on thecontact sensitive surface associated with the one contact sensor of theone or more contact sensors, and the second contacted contact-sensitivebutton is associated with the second location.

Embodiment 27: the system of any of Embodiments 22 to 26, wherein thetouch information is a touch sensor identifier, wherein the one or moreexecutable instructions are adapted to enable the processor to: comparethe touch sensor identifier to stored touch sensor identifiers thatcorrespond to one or more contact sensitive buttons; and identify acontacted contact-sensitive button responsive to the comparison.

Embodiment 28: a method, comprising: detecting sensed touch signalsreceived from one or more touch sensors; determining touch informationresponsive to the detected sensed touch signals; identifying one or moregraphical user interface (GUI) elements of a display utility overlayresponsive to the touch information; and generating one or more eventsresponsive to the identified one or more GUI elements.

Embodiment 29: a system, comprising: a touch sensing sub-systemconfigured to detect sensed touch signals received from one or moretouch sensors and determine touch information responsive to the detectedsensed touch signals; and a memory and a processor, the memory havingone or more executable instructions stored thereon that, while executedby the processor, are adapted to enable the processor to: identify anactivation event responsive to the touch information; and activate agraphical user interface (GUI) overlay responsive to the touchinformation.

Embodiment 30: the system of Embodiment 29, wherein the one or moreexecutable instructions are adapted to enable the processor to identifya contact-sensitive button responsive to the measured sensed touches.

Embodiment 31: the system of any of Embodiments 29 and 30, wherein thecontact-sensitive button is a hand or finger proximity sensor.

Embodiment 32: the system of any of Embodiments 29 to 31, wherein thetouch sensing sub-system is further configured to determine one or morelocations at a contact sensitive surface responsive to detected sensedtouch signals, and the one or more executable instructions are adaptedto enable the processor to: determine an offset between the one or morelocations at the contact sensitive surface and one or more correspondinglocations on a display, wherein the one or more locations on the displayare associated with one or more displayed GUI elements; and generate oneor more adjustments responsive to the offset.

Embodiment 33: the system of any of Embodiments 29 to 32, furthercomprising a display utility configured to send visual information to anon-screen display processor responsive to the one or more adjustments.

Embodiment 34: the system of any of Embodiments 29 to 33, wherein thetouch sensing sub-system is further configured to determine one or morelocations at a contact sensitive surface responsive to detected sensedtouch signals, and the one or more executable instructions are adaptedto enable the processor to: generate visual information comprisinginformation representative of one or more visual indicators responsiveto the one or more locations; and overlay the visual information withvideo information.

Embodiment 35: the system of any of Embodiments 29 to 34, furthercomprising a display controller configured to control a display topresent the one or more visual indicators together with the activatedGUI overlay.

Embodiment 36: a method, comprising: detecting sensed touch signalsreceived from one or more touch sensors; determining touch informationresponsive to the detected sensed touch signals; identifying anactivation event responsive to the touch information; and activating agraphical user interface (GUI) overlay responsive to the touchinformation.

Embodiment 37: an appliance, comprising: a housing comprising a contactsensitive surface positioned with a rear surface of the housing; adisplay configured to present a graphical user interface (GUI); and atouch user-interface (UI) configured to enable interaction with the GUIpresented at the display responsive to manipulation of the contactsensitive surface.

Embodiment 38: the appliance of Embodiment 37, wherein the touch UIcomprises one or more capacitive touch sensors configured to respond tocontact at the contact-sensitive surface.

Embodiment 39: the appliance of Embodiments 37 and 38, wherein theappliance is one of a television or a monitor.

Embodiment 40: the appliance of any of Embodiments 37 to 39, wherein thehousing is bezel-less.

We claim:
 1. A display system, comprising: a contact-sensitive userinterface located on a back surface of the display system; a displayconfigured to present a graphical user interface (GUI), the GUIcomprising activatable regions configured to be interacted with by thecontact-sensitive user interface; and a display system controllerconfigured to change settings associated with characteristics of thedisplay system responsive to activated regions of the GUI.
 2. Thedisplay system of claim 1, wherein the contact-sensitive user interfacecomprises a contact-sensitive surface.
 3. The display system of claim 2,wherein the contact-sensitive surface is adapted to respond to at leastone of physical contact of objects and proximity of objects.
 4. Thedisplay system of claim 1, wherein the display is configured to presentone or more activatable regions at one or more first locations on thedisplay substantially in front of one or more second locations on thecontact-sensitive user interface.
 5. The display system of claim 4,wherein the one or more first locations and one or more second locationsare substantially opposing each other.
 6. The display system of claim 4,wherein the back surface comprises physical topographical featuressubstantially at the one or more second locations.
 7. The display systemof claim 6, wherein the physical topographical features compriseridging, texture, etching, depressed portions, raised portions, andcombinations thereof.
 8. The display system of claim 1, wherein thedisplay is configured to present the GUI overlaid onto a video receivedat a video input of the display system.
 9. The display system of claim1, wherein the display is configured to present the GUI overlaid onto adefault image indicative of no video received at a video input of thedisplay system.
 10. The display system of claim 1, wherein thecharacteristics of the display system comprise one or more ofbrightness, tint, resolution, color, video mode, language, screenadjustment, and input selection.
 11. The display system of claim 1,further comprising an audio output, wherein at least one of thecharacteristics of the display system is a volume associated with theaudio output.
 12. The display system of claim 1, further comprising: avideo input configured to receive video information; and a videoprocessor, wherein the video processor is configured to overlay visualinformation associated with the graphical user interface onto videoinformation received at the video input.
 13. The display system of claim1, further comprising GUI application instructions stored on a memorythat, while executed by a processor, are adapted to enable the processorto generate and/or handle one or more events associated with the GUI.14. The display system of claim 13, wherein the one or more events areassociated with the activatable regions.
 15. The display system of claim14, wherein the one or more events comprise an activation event, adeactivation event, a hand position change event, a hover event, a menuchange event, a button select event, a slider select event.
 16. Thedisplay system of claim 1, further comprising: a touch sensor; and atouch controller configured to detect sensed touch signals received fromthe touch sensor and provide position information to a GUI applicationresponsive to the detected sensed touch signals.
 17. The display systemof claim 16, wherein the touch controller comprises a processor and amemory having one or more instructions stored thereon that, whenexecuted by the processor, are adapted to enable the processor toperform functions, tasks, or activities associated with the GUIapplication.
 18. The display system of claim 16, wherein the touchcontroller further comprises one or more embedded units configured toperform touch detection and touch processing responsive to the sensedtouch signals.
 19. The display system of claim 18, wherein the touchcontroller comprises a microprocessor, and at least one of the one ormore embedded units is configured to perform core operations withoutinterrupting the microprocessor.
 20. The display system of claim 1,wherein the display is configured to present the graphical userinterface responsive to an activation event.
 21. The display system ofclaim 20, wherein the activation event is a hand proximity event.
 22. Asystem, comprising: a touch sensing sub-system configured to detectsensed touch signals received from one or more touch sensors anddetermine touch information responsive to the detected sensed touchsignals; and a memory and a processor, the memory having one or moreexecutable instructions stored thereon that, while executed by theprocessor, are adapted to enable the processor to: identify one or moreGUI elements responsive to the touch information; and generate one ormore events responsive to the identified one or more GUI elements. 23.The system of claim 22, wherein the touch information is positioninformation, and further wherein the one or more executable instructionsare adapted to enable the processor to: compare the position informationto stored position information that corresponds to one or more contactsensitive buttons; and identify a contacted contact-sensitive buttonresponsive to the comparison.
 24. The system of claim 23, wherein theposition information is indicative of a first location on a contactsensitive surface associated with one contact sensor of the one or morecontact sensors, and the contacted contact-sensitive button isassociated with the first location.
 25. The system of claim 24, whereinthe one or more executable instructions are adapted to enable theprocessor to: compare a second position information to the storedposition information that corresponds to the one or more contactsensitive buttons; and identify a second contacted contact-sensitivebutton responsive to the comparison.
 26. The system of claim 25, whereinthe second position information is indicative of a second location onthe contact sensitive surface associated with the one contact sensor ofthe one or more contact sensors, and the second contactedcontact-sensitive button is associated with the second location.
 27. Thesystem of claim 22, wherein the touch information is a touch sensoridentifier, wherein the one or more executable instructions are adaptedto enable the processor to: compare the touch sensor identifier tostored touch sensor identifiers that correspond to one or more contactsensitive buttons; and identify a contacted contact-sensitive buttonresponsive to the comparison.
 28. A method, comprising: detecting sensedtouch signals received from one or more touch sensors; determining touchinformation responsive to the detected sensed touch signals; identifyingone or more graphical user interface (GUI) elements of a display utilityoverlay responsive to the touch information; and generating one or moreevents responsive to the identified one or more GUI elements.